Download 13.1 RNA

13.1 RNA
13.2 Ribosomes & Protein Synthesis
DNA is the genetic material of cells. The sequence of
nucleotide bases in the strands of DNA carries some sort of
code. In order for that code to work, the cell must be able to
understand it.
What, exactly, do those bases code for? Where is the
cell’s decoding system?
Key Questions:
1) How does RNA differ from DNA?
2) How does the cell make RNA?
3) What is the genetic code and how is it read?
4) What role does the ribosome play in assembling proteins?
5) What is the “central dogma” of molecular biology?
The Role of RNA
– Genes contain coded DNA instructions that tell
cells how to build proteins.
– The first step in decoding these genetic
instructions is to copy part of the base sequence
from DNA into RNA.
– RNA, like DNA, is a nucleic acid that consists of a
long chain of nucleotides.
– RNA then uses the base sequence copied from
DNA to direct the production of proteins.
Comparing RNA and DNA
–
Each nucleotide in both DNA and RNA is made up of a 5carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.
–
There are three important differences between RNA and DNA:
–
(1) The sugar in RNA is ribose instead of deoxyribose.
–
(2) RNA is generally single-stranded and not double-stranded.
–
(3) RNA contains uracil in place of thymine.
–
These chemical differences make it easy for the enzymes in
the cell to tell DNA and RNA apart.
Comparing RNA and DNA
– The roles played by DNA and RNA are similar to the master plans and
blueprints used by builders.
– A master plan has all the information needed to construct a building.
Builders never bring a valuable master plan to the building site, where it
might be damaged or lost. Instead, they prepare inexpensive,
disposable copies of the master plan called blueprints.
– Similarly, the cell uses DNA “master plan” to prepare RNA “blueprints.”
– The DNA molecule stays safely in the cell’s nucleus, while RNA
molecules go to the protein-building sites in the cytoplasm—the
ribosomes.
Functions of RNA
– You can think of an RNA molecule, as a disposable
copy of a segment of DNA, a working copy of a single
gene.
– RNA has many functions, but most RNA molecules
are involved in protein synthesis only.
– RNA controls the assembly of amino acids into
proteins.
– Each type of RNA molecule specializes in a different
aspect of this job. The three main types of RNA are
messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, and transfer RNA.
Messenger RNA
– Most genes contain
instructions for
assembling amino acids
into proteins.
– The RNA molecules
that carry copies of these
instructions are known
as messenger RNA
(mRNA): They carry
information from DNA to
other parts of the cell.
Ribosomal RNA
– Proteins are assembled
on ribosomes, small
organelles composed of
two subunits.
– These ribosome
subunits are made up of
several ribosomal RNA
(rRNA) molecules and
as many as 80 different
proteins.
Transfer RNA
– When a protein is built,
a transfer RNA (tRNA)
molecule transfers each
amino acid to the
ribosome as it is
specified by the coded
messages in mRNA.
Transcription
– Most of the work of making RNA takes place during
transcription. During transcription, segments of DNA
serve as templates to produce complementary RNA
molecules.
– The base sequences of the transcribed RNA
complement the base sequences of the template
DNA.
– In prokaryotes, RNA synthesis and protein synthesis
take place in the cytoplasm.
– In eukaryotes, RNA is produced in the cell’s nucleus
and then moves to the cytoplasm to play a role in the
production of proteins. Our focus will be on
transcription in eukaryotic cells.
Transcription
– Transcription requires an enzyme, known as RNA polymerase, that is similar to
DNA polymerase.
– RNA polymerase binds to DNA during transcription and separates the DNA
strands.
– RNA polymerase then uses one strand of DNA as a template from which to
assemble nucleotides into a complementary strand of RNA
Transcription
DNA: CGTGCAGAT
RNA: GCACGUCUA
Promoters
– RNA polymerase binds only to promoters,
regions of DNA that have specific base
sequences.
– Promoters are signals in the DNA molecule
that show RNA polymerase exactly where to
begin making RNA.
– Similar signals in DNA cause transcription to
stop when a new RNA molecule is completed.
RNA Editing
–
RNA molecules sometimes require
bits and pieces to be cut out of them
before they can go into action.
–
The portions that are cut out and
discarded are called introns.
–
In eukaryotes, introns are taken out
of pre-mRNA molecules while they are
still in the nucleus.
–
The remaining pieces, known as
exons, are then spliced back together
to form the final mRNA.
RNA Editing
–
–
Biologists don’t have a complete
answer as to why cells use energy to
make a large RNA molecule and then
throw parts of that molecule away.
Some pre-mRNA molecules may be
cut and spliced in different ways in
different tissues, making it possible
for a single gene to produce several
different forms of RNA.
RNA Editing
– Introns and exons
may also play a role
in evolution, making
it possible for very
small changes in
DNA sequences to
have dramatic effects
on how genes affect
cellular function.
The Genetic Code
– The first step in decoding genetic messages is to transcribe a nucleotide base
sequence from DNA to RNA.
– This transcribed information contains a code for making proteins.
– Proteins are made by joining amino acids together into long chains, called
polypeptides.
–
As many as 20 different amino acids are commonly found in polypeptides.
The Genetic Code
– The specific amino acids in a polypeptide, and the
order in which they are joined, determine the properties
of different proteins.
– The sequence of amino acids influences the shape of
the protein, which in turn determines its function.
– RNA contains four different bases: adenine, cytosine,
guanine, and uracil.
– These bases form a “language,” or genetic code, with
just four “letters”: A, C, G, and U.
The Genetic Code
– Each three-letter “word” in mRNA is known as
a codon.
– A codon consists of three consecutive bases
that specify a single amino acid to be added to
the polypeptide chain.
How to Read Codons
– Because there are four different bases in
RNA, there are 64 possible three-base
codons (4 × 4 × 4 = 64) in the genetic
code.
– This circular table shows the amino acid
to which each of the 64 codons
corresponds. To read a codon, start at
the middle of the circle and move
outward.
– Most amino acids can be specified by
more than one codon.
–
For example, six different codons—
UUA, UUG, CUU, CUC, CUA, and
CUG—specify leucine. But only one
codon—UGG—specifies the amino acid
tryptophan.
Start and Stop Codons
– The genetic code has
punctuation marks.
–
The methionine codon AUG
serves as the initiation, or
“start,” codon for protein
synthesis.
–
Following the start codon,
mRNA is read, three bases at
a time, until it reaches one of
three different “stop” codons,
which end translation.
Translation
–
The sequence of nucleotide bases in an mRNA molecule is a set of instructions
that gives the order in which amino acids should be joined to produce a polypeptide.
–
The forming of a protein requires the folding of one or more polypeptide chains.
–
Ribosomes use the sequence of codons in mRNA to assemble amino acids into
polypeptide chains.
–
The decoding of an mRNA message into a protein is a process known as
translation.
Steps in Translation
–
Translation begins when a
ribosome attaches to an
mRNA molecule in the
cytoplasm.
–
As the ribosome reads each
codon of mRNA, it directs
tRNA to bring the specified
amino acid into the ribosome.
–
One at a time, the ribosome
then attaches each amino acid
to the growing chain.
Steps in Translation
– Each tRNA molecule carries just one
kind of amino acid.
– In addition, each tRNA molecule has
three unpaired bases, collectively
called the anticodon—which is
complementary to one mRNA codon.
– The tRNA molecule for methionine has
the anticodon UAC, which pairs with
the methionine codon, AUG.
– The ribosome has a second binding
site for a tRNA molecule for the next
codon.
– If that next codon is UUC, a tRNA
molecule with an AAG anticodon
brings the amino acid phenylalanine
into the ribosome.
Steps in Translation
– The ribosome helps form a peptide
bond between the first and second
amino acids—methionine and
phenylalanine.
– At the same time, the bond holding
the first tRNA molecule to its amino
acid is broken.
– That tRNA then moves into a third
binding site, from which it exits the
ribosome.
– The ribosome then moves to the
third codon, where tRNA brings it
the amino acid specified by the
third codon
Steps in Translation
– The polypeptide chain
continues to grow until the
ribosome reaches a “stop”
codon on the mRNA
molecule.
– When the ribosome
reaches a stop codon, it
releases both the newly
formed polypeptide and
the mRNA molecule,
completing the process of
translation.
The Roles of tRNA and rRNA
in Translation
–
Ribosomes are composed of roughly 80 proteins and three or four
different rRNA molecules.
–
These rRNA molecules help hold ribosomal proteins in place and help
locate the beginning of the mRNA message.
–
They may even carry out the chemical reaction that joins amino acids
together.
The Molecular Basis of Heredity
– Most genes contain instructions for assembling proteins.
– Many proteins are enzymes, which catalyze and regulate chemical reactions.
– A gene that codes for an enzyme to produce pigment can control the color of a
flower. Another gene produces proteins that regulate patterns of tissue growth in a
leaf. Yet another may trigger the female or male pattern of development in an
embryo.
– Proteins are microscopic tools, each specifically designed to build or operate a
component of a living cell.
– Molecular biology seeks to explain living organisms by studying them at the
molecular level, using molecules like DNA and RNA.
– The central dogma of molecular biology is that information is transferred from DNA
to RNA to protein.
The Molecular Basis of Heredity
– Gene expression is the way in which DNA, RNA, and proteins are
involved in putting genetic information into action in living cells.
– DNA carries information for specifying the traits of an organism.
– The cell uses the sequence of bases in DNA as a template for
making mRNA.
– The codons of mRNA specify the sequence of amino acids in a
protein.
– Proteins, in turn, play a key role in producing an organism’s traits.
The Molecular Basis of
Heredity
– One of the most interesting discoveries of molecular biology is the
near-universal nature of the genetic code.
– Although some organisms show slight variations in the amino acids
assigned to particular codons, the code is always read three bases
at a time and in the same direction.
– Despite their enormous diversity in form and function, living
organisms display remarkable unity at life’s most basic level, the
molecular biology of the gene.